Okonjo-Iweala: My Mother was Abducted over Subsidy Claims

Barely three days after her mother, Prof. Kamene Okonjo, was freed, Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, disclosed that the kidnappers told the octogenarian that the minister’s purported refusal to pay subsidy claims as well as the non-release of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) funds were the motives behind their heinous action.

The minister, who said the old woman’s freedom from the abductors was miraculous, added that although she was denied food and water for the five days she was in captivity, she was in excellent health.

Briefing journalists in Abuja, Okonjo-Iweala, who described her mother as a very courageous woman, said while she was in their custody, the woman had inquired from the kidnappers the motive behind the ordeal they had subjected her to. The abductors, she said, had told her mother in no uncertain terms that her daughter (the minister) had refused to pay subsidy claims to marketers as well as blocked the release of funds accruing to SURE-P.

To set the record straight, the minister noted that nobody had stopped the payment of subsidy to marketers whose claims had been verified by the Aig-Imoukhuede Committee, stressing that the insistence of the Federal Government remained that only claims emanating from genuine transactions and had been verified should be paid – a position she said Nigerians had also championed.

On SURE-P, the minister stated that the programme was a different process, under a special committee, which is not under her control, adding that the Federal Government would continue to do what is right and in the overall interest of Nigerians. “I can’t give all the details because we don’t want to compromise ongoing investigations. “But I can tell you one thing: My mother suffered a great deal during this ordeal. It was only the Almighty God that rescued her from a situation that could very easily have ended tragically.

Pipeline Projects: Senate demands rationale for $7.9bn Foreign Loans

The Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and several state governors represented by their state Finance Commissioners appeared before the Senate to defend the $7.9 billion foreign loans sought from the Exim Bank of China, Islamic Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB) and the French Development Bank (AFD).

The project is part of Federal Government’s proposed pipeline projects under the Medium Term 2012 to 2014 External Borrowing Plans, which is before the Senate Committee on Foreign Loans and Debt.

Okonjo-Iweala, who was represented by the Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Yerima Ngama, had earlier sent the proposed pipeline projects foreign borrowing plan to the upper chamber, which had scaled through several deliberations and readings before it was transmitted to the various committees for final scrutiny.

The breakdown of the loans revealed that all states in the country applied for the loan of about $3.39 billion, while the Federal Government applied for $4.8 billion. Continuation of Eurobond Issuance $1 billion, Diaspora bond$0.1 billion putting the loan of the loan at $9. 005.69 billion.

Subsidy Scam: FG recovers N29bn from suspects

The Federal Government has recovered N29 billion out of the N232 billion oil subsidy scam. The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala dropped the hint at the ongoing Nigerian Economic Conference.
She said the amount was recovered from some marketers who allegedly defrauded the Federal Government in the oil subsidy payment scheme. The minister maintained that the recovery exercise was part of government determination to fight corrupt practices in the oil and gas sector.
The minister said that about 50 marketers were being investigated over the subsidy scam. She attributed the slow pace of payment of the subsidy claims to the ongoing verification and thorough scrutiny of such claims by relevant agencies. Okonjo-Iweala reiterated that only genuine claims of oil marketers would be entertained.

Oil Benchmark: House, Okonjo-Iweala heading for collision

The row over the oil benchmark for the 2013 budget has continued with the House of Representatives calling on the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to either obey the law or resign. According to the House, the minister’s insistence on the $75 per barrel oil benchmark breached the 2013-2015 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper passed by the House on October 9. The House had approved $80 as the oil benchmark for revenue projections in the 2013 budget under the MTEF.

The Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Dr. Abdulmunini Jibrin, said the MTEF was already a law that must be complied with just as the 2013 Appropriation Bill will pass through second reading today during plenary in the House.

However, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said the adoption of $75 as the oil benchmark for the 2013 Budget was to curb inflation. Okonjo-Iweala said a higher oil benchmark would not only lead to higher inflation but also a decline in the value of the naira and also lead to lower savings and reduced investment.

Budget 2013: Oil benchmark pegged at $75

The Federal Government pegged oil benchmark price for $75 per barrel of crude oil in the 2013 budget proposal. This according to the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala would shore up the economy and make for macroeconomic stability. Okonjo-Iweala, who spoke to journalists shortly after the presentation of the 2013 budget proposals to the National Assembly by President Goodluck Jonathan said $75 was the sensible price to fix the benchmark.

The National Assembly, however, is insisting on a benchmark of $80 per barrel, after backing down from $85 that its joint committee had earlier recommended. The minister said the budget was predicated on the assumption that the country would produce 2.53 million barrels of crude oil daily. According to her, another reason that makes the $75 benchmark attractive to the Executive arm of government is the need to ensure prudent management of finances.